Publicity Hounds usually use the strategies they read about here to sell more products or services, promote books, get speaking engagements, promote a nonprofit, position themselves as experts, or offset negative publicity.
Here’s another time when you should try to get the media’s attention: When your company is for sale.
Last year, PestPatrol, a company that identifies spyware as a threat and sells software to deal with the problem, hired Lime Street Studios PR and Principor Communications to raise the company’s profile so it could be acquired.
The two agencies created a plan to put PestPatrol executives Roger Thompson and David Stang in the spotlight so corporate decision-makers would notice them.
–They testified at U.S. Congressional hearings.
–They participated in a spyware workshop.
–They commented on California’s spyware law.
–They served as expert spokesmen on the subject of regulating spyware.
–They hired a new executive director for their trade association, the
Coalition of Anti-Spyware Technology Vendors.
–They wrote op-ed columns that appeared in Computer World and eWEEK magazines.
–With help from the PR firms, they made it easier for reporters to find them by prominently displaying at their website the research center they had created.
In less than six months, the plan produced sustained coverage in national publications such as Investors Business Daily, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and leading online and print technology outlets.
Shortly afterward, PestPatrol announced it was being acquired by Computer Associates in a cash deal. That’s called return on investment.
“Public relations that delivers real ROI is more than publicity,” said John Jordan of Principor Communications. “It is creative, aggressive and focused programs that help clients achieve their strategic goals.”
Principor Communications is one of the few PR firms that touts its PR success stories through news releases so publishers like me can write about them. It’s a great way to generate more business. If you’re a PR practitioner who’s at an agency, or you’re on your own, don’t miss “24 Ways to Attract Clients to Your PR Practice,” a recording of a teleseminar I did with PR pro Marcia Yudkin.